title="[Pg 48]"/> ‘The spirit of the man with whom you wish to communicate is here now.’

EDITOR THEODORE F. BONNET.

“I signified my willingness to hear from the spirit, whereupon the Doctor said, ‘Old boy, I’m not quite as dead as you think.’ Then he mentioned the name of Joseph Touhill. Now, this circumstance deeply impressed me, because the language was so characteristic of the dead burglar, it having been customary with him to address me as ‘Old boy.’ Mind-reading will have to be rejected as an explanation, because the Doctor subsequently read a name that was on a pellet that I had not opened, and knew nothing about until I subsequently read it. I picked up the pellet from the desk where I had put it with a number of others, and handed it to Mayor Ellert, who, without examining it, deposited it in his vest-pocket. Then came rappings on the table, and the medium said: ‘Behind you stands the spirit of the man whose name is on that paper. He was an eminent person, and he died far away from here. He is waving a flag over your head, and on it is written the name of Victor Hugo.’

“The name was correct. Subsequently the Doctor correctly read the name of William Cullen Bryant, which I had also written. The Doctor quoted the spirit of the poet as saying that he was delighted that I was interested in demonstrating that there was a world of spirits. Dr. Schlesinger’s feats are bewildering to the human mind. If he is a mere trickster he possesses in a marvelous way the skill to disguise his character, for his appearance and demeanor are those peculiar to fanaticism or strong faith in a cause.

“Theo. F. Bonnet.”

MR. M’CLOSKEY’S VERSION.

The following is the narrative of Mr. H. H. McCloskey, a resident of Merced at the time of the seance, but now a San Francisco lawyer:—

“I did not attend the little seance at the Mayor’s office by appointment. I was on my way to finish up some business and catch the 4-o’clock boat, when District Attorney Barnes suggested that I drop in and see the fun. Intending to remain but a few moments, I accepted the invitation, and have no reason to regret having done so. As to what happened there, while I remember perfectly well what was done, and kept careful note of all that I saw, I am unable to account for it on any other hypothesis than that the Doctor was, as he claims to be, a spiritual medium. At the same time I am not prepared to admit that much.

“What I saw I saw clearly; it was real and devoid of illusion. There being no one present but the Mayor and thoroughly reputable gentlemen, collusion by which a portion of the events of that afternoon might be accounted for is, of course, out of the question; and neither collusion, mind-reading, nor anything else could account for all that occurred.

“The Doctor requested me to write on seven slips of paper, one on each slip, the names of six acquaintances, five of whom were living and the sixth dead. On the seventh my own name was to be written. I had never seen the Doctor before, and have no reason to suppose that he had ever seen me. I used my own pencil in writing the names, and wrote upon paper furnished by the city and county for the use of his Honor the Mayor. When writing the names I was twenty feet away from the Doctor, and as I wrote upon each slip I folded it up carefully, so that I myself could not see anything of the writing, nor tell one of the seven slips from the others. Five of the names were those of intimate personal friends, the sixth of a man whom I knew in a business way, but for whom, while I was not at all intimate with him, I had always a great regard. This man is dead, and has been so for a couple of years.

“In obedience to the Doctor’s request, I placed the seven slips on the table. Taking the hand of Mr. Barnes, I holding the hand of the latter, the Doctor proceeded to take the slips one by one from the table. The first he held a second and dropped. The second he handed to me saying, ‘This contains your name.’ Upon opening it I found the Doctor to be correct, and asking him what my name was he promptly told us.

“I confess I was a little mystified, but the Doctor didn’t stop there. Continuing, he picked up the other slips until the fifth one had been reached. ‘This is the name of your dead friend. His name is V. C. W. Hooker—not exactly, but a name very similar. I can’t quite make it out. He says he will talk to you at another time.’ As you saw when I opened the slip it showed as I had written it the name of V. C. W. Hooper, a man who was quite prominent in Merced during his lifetime. Just how the Doctor found that out I leave to others who were there to explain when they have time after accounting for the mysterious things that happened to themselves. I cannot and will not pretend to. It was not mind-reading, however. Of that I am satisfied. For as he picked up the fifth slip and said, ‘This is the name of the dead man,’ he did not get that information by reading my mind, for there were two more slips remaining, and I couldn’t say which was which. That is beyond any explanation. Mind-reading will not fit it at all.

“One of the party—I think it was Mr. Barnes—wrote the name of two dead men in his list. Leaving out the first problem—the picking up of the right slip—putting that aside, how is it to be explained that the Doctor chose the right name of the two dead ones? Mr. Barnes did not know. He had not opened the slip; therefore the Doctor could not read his mind. For myself, I give up the conundrum.

“Very truly.
“H. H. McCloskey.”

CHAPTER IV.

CHARACTER OF THE NARRATORS.

To any one who has a fair knowledge of human nature, a glance at the line pictures of the gentlemen who participated in the events with which this book deals will tell that they are men of character and keen observation. In San Francisco and throughout the West many of them are as well known as the Governor of the State.

Their names need no introduction, and since they have been representative men for many years it is not necessary to say much about them. For the benefit of persons who know nothing concerning them, however, the following information is submitted:—

Patrick Crowley, Chief of Police, was born in Albany County, New York, on March 17, 1831. When quite young he went to New York and worked in different printing-offices. He came to San Francisco in 1850, and worked in the mining-camps for two or three years. He was engaged in the boating business here, when in 1854 he was elected to the office of Town Constable on the Democratic ticket. He was re-elected on the same ticket in 1855, and from 1856 he was re-elected every two years on the old People’s Party ticket till 1866, when he was elected Chief of Police. He held that office by election for six years, when he quit the force and went into the brokerage business. In 1878, by an act of the Legislature, the Board of Police Commissioners received the power to appoint the Chief of Police. The office was tendered him, and after considerable pressure he